UW-Whitewater faces federal sex assault probe

WHITEWATER, Wis. — The federal government is investigating whether the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and dozens of other universities have mishandled sexual abuse complaints.

The U.S. Department of Education said Thursday that 55 colleges and universities are under investigation. It declined to provide details of the probes, but said some were prompted by complaints, while others were initiated following compliance reviews triggered by other factors, such as news stories.

A spokeswoman for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater a complaint against that school was filed with the Education Department. She declined to comment on it because it is still under investigation.

Spokeswoman Sara Kuhl says the university is committed to investigating sexual abuse complaints in a "timely and effective" manner and provides the people making them with help in reporting the incidents to law enforcement officials.